Army begins long process of cleaning up post-WW II chemical weapons buried at Redstone Arsenal

The Chemical Biological Application and Risk Reduction Business Unit of the Army'ÂÂs Edgewood Chemical Biological Center will begin the investigation and clean-up of chemical munitions sites at Redstone Arsenal. (Contributed photo)

HUNTVSILLE, Alabama -- Work on the next phase of what Army
officials are calling the "monster of all clean-up projects" will begin soon at
Redstone Arsenal.

The Chemical Biological Application and Risk Reduction Business
Unit of the Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center is beginning the massive
task of investigating and removing chemical weapons buried at the arsenal.
There are an estimated 17 such sites at Redstone and clean-up is expected to
take decades and cost more than $520 million.

"The big one that
we're chasing now is Redstone," said John Ditillo, CBARR chemist. "The initial
field work will begin later this month and last for approximately 30 days. But
the overall, large-scale clean-up effort at Redstone has been projected to last
25 years."

Built in 1941, the arsenal produced conventional chemical
ammunition such as small arms and light weapons during its early years of
operations. The chemical burial sites date back to the end of World War II when
demilitarization efforts called for the reduction of surplus munitions, most
which were routinely drained, burned or buried in trenches.

In 2010, arsenal officials announced ADEM was requiring
investigation and cleanup of the chemical weapons disposal sites as part of the
permitting process. The arsenal then began working to identify the locations of
the burial sites, and has now moved to the investigation and removal phase with
CBARR.

Earlier studies by the Environmental Protection Agency and
the Alabama Department of Environmental Management had identified solvents,
metals, pesticides and hazardous remnants from rocket fuel research, as well as
chemical warfare material on the arsenal's 38,125 acres.

The project's first phase will include monitoring of
selected samples. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville is working
with CBARR to conduct the air monitoring and laboratory analysis of some 135
sediment and water samples. Those samples are being shipped to the Edgewood
center at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland for additional testing. Other
samples will be sent to Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas.

The same samples will also be sent to commercial
laboratories for analysis.

"Soil samples that
require shipment off site must first be cleared ...to ensure that they are safe
for transport. Once cleared, the samples are in coolers and sent by commercial
courier to be analyzed at the CBARR laboratories at (Aberdeen) or (Pine Bluff)
," Ditillo said. "Our analysis must be completed within 24 to 48 hours so that
the corresponding split can be sent to the commercial laboratory. They can't
touch it until we clear it, and they have specific hold time requirements that
cannot be exceeded. All of this requires careful coordination."

CBARR has previously worked on remediation of former defense
sites, including locations in Florida, Oklahoma, Hawaii, New Jersey, Kansas,
Guam, the Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C.